Freak
by blue.skies.4ever
Summary: Title subject to change. Elisa is shunned by most of her family for her freakish metamorphagus abilities, that have a tendency to fluctuate with her emotions. Her only goal is to survive Hogwarts and her family long enough to escape, until she meet Regulus and Sirius and consequently falls into the world of the marauders. Warning: heavy topics, abuse
1. A Very Black Day

**Back in the saddle, new story hope you like it:**

"We're going to be late," Dahlia's voice was overflowing with contempt as Elisa took the stairs two at a time to come to a rest on the landing where the haughty blonde waited.

"Late for what?" Elisa's voice was gentle in stark contrast to her sister's, despite the annoyance building in her, "It's just Diagon Alley, there's literally nothing we have to be late for there."

"If you must know, Freak, I'm meeting Daniel and I'd really rather not be late," Dahlia knocked her shoulder into the slight girl as she passed, "You're hair's blue again, Freak, I would go fix that if I were you."

Elisa felt a hot blush creep up her neck as she hurried to the bathroom to check on her tresses. Unfortunately, Dahlia had been telling the truth, blue was bleeding into her soft blonde hair once again. She concentrated to making the few whisper streaks of color return to the same platinum as her haughty sister. It took a lot more effort than it should have been for someone with her… talents, but after what felt like nearly an hour she had managed a uniform color once more and headed out to join her sister at the floo.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, Princess?" their father fawned over Dahlia as fiery seeds of jealousy spark to life in the pit of Elisa's stomach, he would never call her pet names like Princess, "It really wouldn't be a bother."

"Of course, Daddy, Freak and I are just getting school supplies it'll be a bore, besides we both know you have work to get done," Dahlia's voice still hadn't quite lost its haughtiness, "If you just give us money, we'll be fine."

He looked towards Elisa for reassurance, only to instantly become enraged, that girl could be so trying, "Salazar's snakes! Elisabeth your eyes are bloody orange! Can you at least try not to be so freakish? I mean, how in Merlin's name do you even get them to be orange?"

Unshed tears welled in said orange eyes as her father berated her until the offending irises finally lapsed into a deep cobalt, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I'll try harder."

Her promises fell on deaf ears as he merely nodded his approval of her somewhat normally colored eyes and turned back to Dahlia, "Here's some galleons dear, but don't be afraid to stop at Gringotts if you need more. Be sure to get something nice for yourself along with all the supplies."

The spoiled blonde barely batted an eye at the amount of gold suddenly handed over to her and Elisa felt her eyes drifting towards orange again as annoyance circulated in the pit of her stomach. She gritted her teeth against the color change, hoping to reverse it before-

"Elisabeth! That's twice already!" she earned a hard slap to the face for her efforts, "Once more today and you're going back to _the room_."

Tears threatened as Elisa's throat constricted in panic at the mere thought of _the room_ , turning her eyes a deep grey. She managed to keep everything natural colors long enough for her father to bid Dahlia good bye and usher them both into the floo. Elisa forced a halfhearted mumble into the green flames as she lost the battle to remain the right colors, her indignant anger and resigned sorrow wreaked havoc on her metamorphmagus abilities, twisting her into a brilliant rainbow. When they landed in the Leaky Cauldron, Daliah's shriek of laughter was a sure indication of that. The natural blonde managed to fish a mirror out of her bag after a moment or two and the sight that met Elisa was, as expected, horrifying. Her hair had managed to find itself in a completely curly and azure state while her eyes had turned a brilliant magenta.

"Freak," Dahlia managed between peals of laughter, and then she was off.

Elisa assumed to find Daniel.

That left her alone and without the money to buy the school supplies she was supposed to. Annoyance flashed through her once more, but she quickly quelled it. Dahlia had probably just forgotten she had all of the money, she was a blonde after all. It wasn't her fault she just wanted to escape from her freak of a sister and get back to the normalcy of Daniel. Having a sister that was always ruining your life with her oddness could hardly be easy for Dahlia. The thoughts swirled angrily in her mind, reminding Elisa once again that she would always hurt everyone she touched. She frowned again as a blue curl fell in front of her eyes. She looked like such a… freak. It was another five minutes of staring purposefully in Dahlia's mirror with before she managed the same smooth platinum hair and crystal blue eyes as her sister.

The Leak Cauldron was empty, well, there was always the stray ruffian nursing a fire whiskey or bowl of stew, but the Leaky Cauldron was largely empty. It was a rare occurrence that Elisa thanked her lucky stars for before heading out into Diagon Alley. The typical hasty bustle of back to school shopping caught her up as she tried to make her way to Grigotts. Some accidental pushing and shoving by various unaware strangers found her outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. She scoffed at the universe's idea of a joke, like _she_ could ever play quidditch, she turned to head back into the streams of people that filled the alley, intent on finally getting to Grigott's when she was quite unceremoniously knocked off her feet by a speeding blur.

"Sorry love," the now non-blurry figure managed as he struggled to his feet and offered a hand.

"No worries," she replied quickly, "It's my fault really. I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Nonsense," what she could now tell was a rather handsome boy with longish silky black hair and steel grey eyes fixed her with a rather piercing stare, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

His eyes flashed in the afternoon sun, trading between the color of cool steel and a cloudy sky. She found herself quite entranced in the stunning color and was only made aware of the fact that she was staring when he cleared his throat.

"You didn't hit your head did you?" he shifted on his feet nervously and Elisa felt herself flush once more.

"Oh no, I'm fine really, thanks for the hand up," she glanced shyly at the ground and he lamented the loss of such a pretty sight, her grey blue eyes and pale as cream face with just a touch of rosy flush were hardly dissatisfying, "I should be off then."

He regarded her for a moment more, noting the way the wind toyed with her strawberry blonde hair (funny just a moment ago he could have sworn she was platinum blonde), "Where are you going? Perhaps I could help you make your way through what seems to be a rather rough crowd."

"It does seem that way," she cast a rather nervous look at the crowd, "But I couldn't possibly take you away from your shopping."

"It's no bother really," he felt his cheeks warm as he realized he still hadn't stepped away after helping her up, he could pick out every individual dark blonde eyelash against her roses and cream face.

"I don't even know your name," she turned the full force blue grey gaze on him, "Besides I'm sure you have better things to do."

She was already slipping into the crowd when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to face him again, "Regulus."

"Elisa," she barely managed to cringe at the sudden physical contact and followed his example in leaving off her last name, not that she didn't already know his.

Of course she knew the Blacks, having attended the Malfoy Ball every year since she could remember, she knew all of the old and noble pureblood families. She hadn't recognized him, but with the name established, his coloring gave him away as the younger of the two Black brothers. She wasn't surprised, however, that he didn't seem to recognize her. Sure, the families loved to gossip of the disgracefully freakish Rosier daughter, but she was hardly ever presented to any one of their preciously pure sons. She was much too much of a freak for that. Regarding him silently, she felt yet another blush came over her as she realized he still had a hold of her hand and she had been staring into his eyes.

"Well, you know my name now," he murmured, enraptured by the darkening rose of blush that bloomed on her creamy cheeks, "Where are you off to?"

She shook her head lightly at his unshakable confidence, what are earth did her stand to gain with her anyways, "Gringotts."

The reluctant reply brought a smile to his face as he tugged her into the crowd. The warmth of his hand seemed to travel up Elisa's arm and settle in her stomach as they traveled on. A smile worked its way across her lips as Regulus murmured sarcastic comments about the shoppers they passed to her, and she found herself regarding him with admiration she rarely, if ever, felt towards Slytherins. It wasn't long before they had made it past the crowd and Elisa found herself staring up at the old stone façade of Gringotts, the most secure bank in all of the wizarding world. She absently wondered if her father would be upset with her small withdrawal, but quickly shoved the thought to the back of her mind. She didn't want to think of the punishment for withdrawing money she wasn't supposed to now, not with Regulus close enough to notice the sudden hitch in her breath and the blue in her hair. Instead, she managed several calming breaths while he regarded her still strawberry blonde hair thoughtfully.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" he finally burst out after several seconds of brooding.

Elisa brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, more than a bit flustered, "Yes."

It was more of a squeak than and actually reply, which he did not seem to understand by the way he regarded her with confused eyes.

She took a deep breath, and another, before she was able to manage an understandable answer, using the proper manners she'd had drilled into her with the aid of a crucio or two, "Yes, I'm in Hufflepuff."

"I can't remember ever seeing you before. What year are you in?" he trailed his hand across hers as he finally retracted it.

"Fifth," Regret of the loss of the warmth he had been filling her with swirled in her chest. She didn't comment on his lack of divulgence in regard to his house as she already knew why.

"Oh! That's the same as… as my brother, I'm sure you know him," his momentary burst of excitement quickly cooled at the thought of his brother. Certainly he remembered how much more receptive to Gryffindors (rather than Slytherins) Hufflepuffs tend to be. He cast his steel eyes towards the ground and dug the toe of one of his gleaming dress shoes into the cobble stones.

"Regulus!" A shout interrupted Regulus' staring contest with the ground. His eyes traded between cool steel and cloudy sky again as he picked out the source of the call.

"So, I guess now's as good a time as any to say I'm in Slytherin," Regulus sighed, clearly expected her rejection at that piece of information.

"Reggie! There's my favorite little silver snake!" A taller raven haired boy interrupted, his stormy grey eyes lit with excitement. Sirius Black, the heart throb of nearly all of Hogwarts' female population positioned himself in between the two, causing yet another blush to sweep across Elisa at his proximity.

"And a Black," Regulus released another heavy sigh and reluctantly turned towards his brother not wanting to lose her to his more popular brother already, "I'm sure you're at least heard of my brother, this is Sirius."

"Elisa," she shook his hand, hoping it wasn't noticeable that she was nearly trembling.

"Rosier?" Regulus's steel eyes went wide at Sirius's accusation.

Elisa smiled shyly towards the ground and hoped desperately that her hair hadn't managed the full pink of her usual blush, "The one and only."

"I could have sworn you were a blonde," Sirius grinned roguishly, "But I have to say, I've always had a weakness for redheads."

She blushed even deeper and glanced at Regulus from the corner of her eye to gauge his reaction. She found he was staring at her hair rather thoughtfully.

"Just a moment ago I swear your hair was strawberry blonde, but now it seems decidedly ginger," Regulus commented as he gently picked a lock from her shoulder to twist in the sunlight.

The pale auburn strands glistened a deeper red even as he turned them in his hand and she felt as if she would explode from all of this bloody blushing, "Trick of the light."

Her throat was dry and the reply came out as more of a croak than actual words, but it didn't matter. Knowing her cover was running out, Elisa took that as a sign to take her leave. As soon as he released her hair she took off tossing a vague goodbye over her shoulder and claiming sudden important business. The brothers just stared after her with an odd mixture of curiosity and confusion in the similar steel grey and stormy eyes.

"So she's a Rossier?" Regulus asked as they watched her disappear, "I don't suppose you know which one exactly?"

Sirius shook his head, "You know already so don't go pretending to be so thick, she doesn't need you ganging up on her as well. Hair going from blonde to red with her blush like that- she's the freak of course."

"Shame really, I was beginning to like her," Regulus sighed as Sirius smirked.

"I think she's going to be my new best friend."


	2. Home is where the heart is

"Helga's hippogriffs!" Elisa cursed under her breath when she finally found herself at her family's Gringott vault, this was exactly why she avoided people, boys in particular. The last thing she needed was anybody noticing the vague fluctuating nature of her hair, Dahlia and her friends were more than enough trouble for her as it was thank you very much. Regulus was certainly a sweet boy, enough so that she had a hard time imagining his leasing bolts of red magic at her, but he was a Black and a Slytherin after all. Like as not he'd be goaded into it or face a dreadful couple of weeks being shunned, definitely not worth the likes of her.

"You just going to daydream all day, blue?" the goblin called out as he scratched at the cart impatiently.

She looked up startled, and found a couple strands of blue hair had fallen into her vision. Annoyed at yet another unintentional color change, she shook herself enough to slip a few galleons into a pouch and return from the vault. A short and extremely jerky ride later she found herself once again facing the too rough crowd that consumed Diagon Alley. A sigh escaped her before she plunged back into the crowd, mumbling her apologies to everyone the crowd managed to thrust her into. She hurried about her shopping as quickly as possible and managed to avoid another run in with the Blacks and other pureblood families. In the end she had far more bruises than she began with, all of her fifth year supplies, and a couple treats for Alfie, the family owl. She spent the remainder of her time waiting for Dahlia in a corner of Obscurus Books reading and steadily avoiding contact with anyone who happened to find the tucked away little shop.

The kindly old owner, Madame Thécaire, knew her well from the many Diagon Alley trips she had spent hiding there. She was a tiny little witch with a pile of dark silver hair affixed to the top of her head with a sapphire pin that caught the light in the dusty old shop, making Elisa stare enviously at it every time. After a whirlwind of demanding Ravenclaws swept through, Madame Thécaire meandered over to Elisa's back corner and settled into a plush armchair across from Elisa's own.

"What happened now, dear?" her voice sounded like the rustle of pages turning, aged and full of knowledge.

Elisa looked up sheepishly from the book she was currently hiding in, "Oh it's nothing Madame Thécaire, I'm fine."

The elderly shopkeeper was hardly swayed by the young witch's blasé tone, and arched an elegantly painted on eyebrow in challenge, "You've gone all blue again."

"What I wouldn't do for one normal interaction today," Elisa cried, exasperated, "All anyone seems to be able to comment on is my hair! Between Dahlia, Regulus, and you, you would think I'm only a mess of color changing hair."

"Regulus?" Madame Thécaire questioned, happily ignoring the rest of her outburst, "My, my, have you finally talked to a boy my little mouse?"

"Maybe," Elisa instantly retreated behind the safety of her book once more, "Was that really all you heard from all that?"

"Tell me everything," Madame Thécaire demanded as she settled deeper into the comforts of the worn velvet armchair, "I don't get out much these days."

Elisa sighed and delved into an explanation of the morning, beginning with Dahlia running off with all the money and ending with her sudden flight from the Black brothers. Making sure to take great care in her description of Regulus and the sudden life he seemed to bring to everything. She mentioned his steel grey/stormy grey eyes at least ten times without noticing. All the while a soft smile managed to overtake her lips, much to the amusement of her gossipy companion.

"He sounds like quite the catch," Madame Thécaire murmured conspiratorially.

"Oh Madame, no!" Elisa cried, heat flooding to her cheeks once more, "I would never!"

"You've gone adorably pink now my little mouse," Madame Thécaire chuckled affectionately, "I highly doubt you would 'never'."

Before Elisa had another chance to protest another demanding costumer had managed to find the bookstore and needed Madame Thécaire full attention. She returned to her reading for the time being. When she finally left to meet Dahlia at the Leaky Cauldron once more she noticed an unfamiliar weight in her pocket. Reaching in cautiously, she discovered a small curiously heavy envelope. She tore open the red wax seal discovering a glittering prize inside. Madame Thécaire's sapphire pin and a small note.

 _You're perfect the way you are little mouse. Blue or pink I love you all the same, good luck at school this year, I have a feeling you'll need it._

"Daddy we're home!" Dahlia called as soon as she stepped out of the floo, "You won't believe what Elisa did."

Elisa ducked, attempting to hide from the world behind a curtain of blonde hair so pale it was almost white. It matched her face perfectly, the blood drained out with fear after Dahlia's taunts the whole way home. She really hadn't meant to bother her little sister in anyway, but like usual she couldn't seem to stop messing everything up.

"Dahli please," she whispered with an anxious tug on her sister's hand, "I really didn't mean-"

"What did the Freak get into now?" their mother's cool drawl interrupted, with her glacial blue eyes flashing coldly.

If possible Elisa got even paler. She knew what was coming, whether or not Dahlia tattled on her now, her fate was sealed. Dahlia glanced regretfully at her, running to their father was one thing, but throwing Elisa to the mercy of The Lady of the House was another entirely. However, the line of thought was already started, it had to be finished.

"Dahlia Grace, I believe I asked you a question," their mother's crisp intonation cut through the air with a frigidity rarely achieved in such a short statement.

"It wasn't such a big deal," Dahlia's eyes had fallen to trace patterns on the carpet and her voice was soft for once, "Honestly Mother, hardly worth bothering yourself over."

Their mother cleared her throat delicately, "Do not make me ask you again, Dahlia."

"I saw her talking to Regulus Black," Dahlia let the words fall out in a rush and Elisa's heart sank.

"I see," if possible the glacial eyes grew even colder.

Elisa didn't see her sister the rest of the week, until the night before they left for school. Dahlia slid into her bed sometime past midnight, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Elisa's arms went about her reflexively, and they lay there in the silence for a long moment.

"We haven't done this since we were kids," Dahlia finally whispered into the moonlit room.

"You haven't had nightmares since we were kids," Elisa replied softly, "At least not like the ones I know you're having now."

"I'm still afraid of the dark Else," Dahlia sighed, turning fretfully within her sister's embrace, "I don't think I've ever told anyone that, but ever since then I'm still afraid of the dark and every time you back down there…"

She trailed off for a moment as the tremors continued to wrack her tiny frame. Elisa shook with her, well aware of exactly what she was referencing. The cruelty of The Lady of the House was not something to be underestimated.

"Elisa, every time you go back down there I relive it all and I can hardly bare it," Dahlia finally managed, "I know I'm not always the kindest to you, but I wouldn't really wish that upon anyone. I still get nightmares every time after you go down there. It's not something I'll ever forget."

"You start to get accustomed to it after a while," Elisa attempted feebly.

Dahlia shook her head violently, tangling her platinum locks with Elisa's blue strands, "No you don't."

"No you don't," Elisa agreed.

Dahlia wrapped her arms around her sister as the continued to tremble together.

"I'm still afraid of the dark too."


	3. A squeaky little mouse

"You're looking for her," Sirius laughed, playfully punching his brother's shoulder, "You're totally looking for her."

"Who? Honestly, Sirius, I haven't the foggiest what you're talking about," Regulus ducked his head, clearly embarrassed.

"The Rosier Freak, you're scanning the crowd for strawberry blonde hair," he accused, "Or ginger, or blonde, or whatever she is now."

"I'm not!" Regulus growled, "I'm just trying to find Avery and all of them."

"Sure, so you aren't going to go over to that beautiful blonde over there?"

Regulus whipped his head around to follow his brother's gaze and found the girl he had been looking for despite all his protests, "She hardly looks freakish today."

"What did I tell you about that nonsense," Sirius swatted his brother's head, "She doesn't need you ganging up on her too."

"You literally just called her the freak!" he exclaimed, aggravated by his brother's hypocrisy.

"That's different, I'm on her side. Now, if you're not going to go talk to her, I am," Sirius laughed and took off towards the forlorn girl.

Regulus watched as his brother dove into the crowd, which quickly managed to obscure his vision of both Sirius and Elisa. He hadn't see her since the day in Diagon Alley, but their brief encounter had run through his mind endlessly since. She had been so shy, so withdrawn and yet there she still stuck in his mind. So inappropriate for him to associate with, but something about her was so tempting. He should go seek his normal Slytherin friends at this point, but he managed to catch sight of her again. Everything stopped for one clichéd second, and all his doubt dispersed. How could he let Sirius go to that beautiful girl standing all by herself with a horribly morose look marring her features? It didn't matter that she was "the Rosier Freak" or that every pureblood family at Hogwarts could see everything, she was all alone in the crowd looking like someone had just killed her cat. And he just let his popular, womanizing brother go to her, like the biggest idiot in the world.

The thing about trunks, when filled with everything one might need over the next nine months, is that they are heavy. They are extremely, ridiculously, unmanageably heavy. So when one attempts to lift said trunk on her own, despite being a slight fifteen-year-old girl, it begins to look slightly farcical, as Elisa was rapidly finding out. Ideally, a quick levitation spell or at worst a cart would come to her aid, but she found herself presently without access to either. The first, because of the Ministry's laws on under-aged magic, and the second because Dahlia had managed to get the last cart, after their house-elf apparated them to the station, before sweeping off to the train leaving Elisa with nothing. She felt a faint tingle travel across her iris, and fought the urge to rub, what she was sure were now orange eyes. With a calming breath, she reminded herself of the night before, when Dahlia had been trembling with her in bed the way the two sisters hadn't in years. Her sister never came to her for comfort anymore, so the past night had made waking up to her sister's berating over her freakishness almost bearable. However, her current callousness hardly made Elisa warm with affection. In truth, she had hoped Dahlia coming to her again meant a new start, a return to the way things had once been. She should have known better, of course, she couldn't have her sweet younger sister back, it was her own fault she had lost her in the first place.

She shook her head, attempting to disperse the rather morose thoughts. Instead, she focused on her current problem, the pressing matter of the overweight trunk. It had to make it onto to the train somehow, but lifting it seemed to be out of the question. Ideally, her older brother would have appeared by now to help her with her luggage, but she had been seeing less and less of him these days. His absence combined with her all too apparent absence of friends at Hogwarts left her with the slow progress she's managed to make by dragging her trunk about 4 cm at a time. With a rather unhappy sigh, she wrapped her hands around the worn leather handle once more and prepared to strain against the weight.

"Struggling, Rosier?" she jumped at the question, quickly straightening to turn and face the tall pureblood.

"Sirius!" her hair was once again beginning to flush pink to match the developing blush on her cheeks, "I'm fine, just my sister took the last luggage cart, but I'll be fine."

"Love, I think you and I both know there's no chance of you ever lifting this," he nodded his head towards the horrible trunk, "you're hardly 7 stones soaking wet, but watch this. All will be solved in just a minute."

He stooped, eager to put his quidditch developed muscles to use, as she fretted over allowing him to help her, her blush ever deepening. She also found her anxiety filled mind drawing her eyes up to the crowd. She found herself searching without consciously meaning to, just incidentally glancing frantically about.

"Merlin, you're just as bad as him," Sirius laughed as he adjusted his grip, "He's over there by the train."

Elisa's gaze followed his head nod and landed on the other Black brother before she remembered herself, "I wasn't looking for Regulus!"

"Of course love, I never said you were," Sirius laughed as he attempted to hoist the trunk, only to find it far heavy than he expected and fail nearly as miserably as she had.

It was Elisa's turn to laugh as he flailed uselessly against the weight, "What was that? 'It will all be solved in just a minute'?"

"It would if your trunk wasn't filled with bloody bricks!" he exclaimed as he adjusted his grip a final time and strained against the weight to finally lift the hefty trunk, his face growing pink with exertion.

"Or maybe you're just not as strong as you thought you were," she laughed and followed him towards the train.

Sirius cast a curious sideways glance despite the strain, "Such sass, I wouldn't have expected it from the Rosier mouse, who could barely manage a squeak at our last meeting."

Elisa did find herself surprised, what on earth had made her make those jokes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hush, little mouse," Sirius cut in, "I wasn't asking for an apology, you're actually pretty funny when you let yourself talk."

"Thank you," she murmured as a tingle crept up her scalp alerting her to the fact that her face and hair had probably both flushed bright red, "And just so you know, I wasn't looking for him. Regulus, I mean, I wasn't looking for him."

"Of course not," Sirius smirked and readjusted his grip on the trunk a final time, as they neared the train, "But I was serious about the bricks, this thing must weigh a tonne!"

The scarlet engine let out a loud whistle as Elisa turned to enter a compartment, only be stopped by a hand on her wrist. She jerked her hand away, quickly putting distance between her and the sudden contact.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there," Sirius murmured, his grey eyes taking in her huddled stance, "I just… what were you doing? Come sit with me."

Elisa took a few deep breaths to steady herself, "It's fine, you helped me with trunk, you can go off with your friends now."

"Can you just stop for one moment with the self-deprecating stuff?" he sighed, "Just come sit with us, not in the compartment all alone. I think they'd like you, even if your hair is turning all pink again."

She ducked her head at the mention of her blush, "If you say so."

Sirius flashed his brilliant smile, but resisted grabbing her hand again, "Follow me!"

They came to the last compartment on the train, away from the prefect's compartment and any other source of authority. Elisa stopped short, as she attempted to follow the activity inside through the frosted glass of the compartment doors. There was so much laughter and chatting, such boisterous happiness, she wanted to run in the opposite direction.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Elisa sighed half turning from the door.

"Hey, you can't chicken out now, you're here," Sirius argued softly, "Just open the door already."

"Moony, I swear on your future unborn child, if you do not deliver this note the love of my life during your prefects' meeting I will destroy everything that you hold dear!" James declared as he flourished an envelope at his sandy haired friend.

So when Elisa gently opened the compartment door, she was met with an odd scene as James stood gallantly on the plush velvet cushions addressing a rather wane looking Remus.


	4. how to make friends and alienate people

**SO I'm back, sorry for the long hiatus or whatever. This chapter is kind of a filler/exposition and assumes some prior knowledge of the Marauders, because I'm really too lazy to write their descriptions, sorry not sorry.**

The thing about meeting the three other Gryffindors in person is that they were exactly like she'd always expected they were. After five years of schooling with them, they'd all managed to draw a fair amount of attention to themselves. Well, James and Sirius had managed to draw a fair amount of attention to them all. Plus, she'd heard her dorm mates up late gossiping about how cute one or the other of the pair was for the better part of her schooling. They accepted her without question after a quick introduction and odd look from Sirius, and she found she was actually enjoying her time in the noisy and boisterous compartment. James was as bold and cocky as he'd always seemed, Remus was as sensible and shy as she'd guessed before he left for the prefect's meeting of course, and Peter was… there. Honestly, her heart went out to the pudgy, odd one out of the group. You could see how much he loved being part of the 'cool kids' or whatever you wanted to call them, and how desperate he was to be reaffirmed as part of the group as often as possible. For their part, the other boys were far more caring than she'd anticipated in terms of Peter. They made sure he was in on every joke and part of every conversation, a courtesy that seemed mostly extended to her as well. It was nearly enough to make her think Sirius had somehow warned them to be nice, she thought, stealing a glance at the handsome boy next to her. Although, she kept noticing the curious way they regarded her, surely wondering how on earth such a shy little thing had caught the great Sirius Black's attention.

"I met him in Diagon Alley," she finally clarified, unprompted, and received three curious stares for her trouble. Positive she was blushing deep enough for it to be noticeable, she barreled on, "Sirius, I mean, that's why I'm here. I ran into him in Daigon Alley."

"I think it'd be more accurate to say I ran into you," Sirius cut in, graciously drawing their eyes from her, "Reg and I were racing, I lost him in the crowd, and when I caught up, he was conversing with this lovely lady."

"Your hair's gone all pink!" Peter exclaimed, pointing out what was now extremely obvious.

"Yeah, it does that from time to time," she murmured, staring down at her hands and waiting for the insults and teasing to start.

"You're a metamorphagus," they all looked up to find Remus standing in the doorway looking a bit astonished, "Also Peter, I don't think it's very polite to point out such things like that."

"Sorry," Peter apologized mulishly, "I just never met a metamorphagus before."

"Care to explain what exactly that is Moony?" James questioned, as the pale boy sunk into the seat next to her.

"It means my hair and eyes change color," she input quietly.

"That's putting it mildly. It means she can change her features without the aid of transfiguration, just through innate ability," Remus clarified, "it's quite remarkable really."

He reached out curiously to touch on of her shockingly pink curls, causing her to flinch noticeably and him to quickly retract his hand, "I apologize, that was quite rude of me wasn't it."

"It's fine," she breathed as her heart rate slowly returned to normal, noting how Sirius was regarding her with the same stare he had after she'd flinched earlier, "Just surprised me that's all."

"Do you have the control to do any more drastic changes yet?" Remus questioned, accepting her explanation without too much pause, "I once read of a metamorphagus who could change entirely into any number of people's likenesses at will."

She shook her head quickly, causing her now lilac hair to dance around her head playfully, "Control isn't exactly how I'd describe it. It just kind of changes."

"Interesting, to be perfectly honest, I had no idea any metamorphagi were attending Hogwarts, let alone in our year," she could tell Remus wanted to continue questioning her but she was desperate to get off the subject of her ever-shifting appearance.

Sirius evidently picked up on her anxiety, and quickly shifted the conversation to some Quidditch match that had apparently been a huge upset. She cast a grateful glance at him and was met with a wry smile that would have made half the girls she knew swoon. As it was, she settled comfortably into her seat between the handsome rebellious Black brother, and the pale sandy haired Remus. From there, the rest of the journey to school seemed to go smoothly. She managed to enjoy herself a bit, laughing at their antics and boisterous chatter. When the train finally arrived, she was only half relieved and surprisingly disappointed to realize she'd be parting ways with them so soon.

"Well, it was nice to meet you all," she nodded to them as she stood.

Sirius quickly stood too and reached out a hand, but stopped short of actually touching her this time, "Whoa there little mouse, where do you think you're off to now? We didn't scare you off that quickly did we?"

"I just assumed…" she trailed off as she took in all their friendly and mildly hurt faces.

"Come on, you can get a carriage with us," Peter piped up and held the door for her in a gesture that would have been gallant if performed by James or Sirius, but came off as heart-meltingly endearing from the smaller boy.

Sirius nodded and strode out the door then turned to look for her. So, she did the only thing she could do. She took a deep breath and walked out as if to follow his lead, before bolting the other direction.

The train corridor streamed past her as she ran, a blur of crimson and gold, as is mocking her choice to leave the four Gryffindors. Panic swelling in her chest with the realization of how odd she must have seemed to them all, but she knew it was for the best. Getting close to people would never lead to anything but heartache, still, it had been a lovely train ride. Now, she just needed to find her way off the damned thing. She was far more focused on finding the nearest door off the engine than where she was going, which is probably how she managed to slam directly into an all too solid person and land sprawling on the floor. When she caught her breath enough to look up and apologize she stopped short to find herself staring into familiar grey eyes.

"I guess it's only fair you run into me this time," he laughed and extended a hand to help her up.


	5. Carriage rides

"Regulus," she contemplated not taking his hand and scrambling up on her own, but temptation won her over. So, she slipped her hand into his and let his warmth wash over her again.

"You look good with pink hair you know," his smirk made her stomach flip flop, "It suits you."

Her hair and faced flushed even redder for a moment before she took the reminder to heart and began to school her emotions, allowing blonde to bleed back into her hair from the roots down, "Sorry about that, with so much going on, I just can't always keep in under control."

"I wasn't making fun," he assured her, "I swear, I really do like it, or maybe I just like knowing I have that effect on you."

Caught off guard she felt the familiar rush of her hair blushing a bubble gum pink before she brought it to heel again, this time just managing strawberry blonde, "You did that on purpose."

"Maybe a little," he smirked and met her grey blue eyes confidently, "I told you, I like it."

The train whistle blew shrilly before she could reply, which was just as well since she had no idea how to reply to this bold and handsome boy. She was sure it was just a game he was playing with her, just a way to amuse himself, but something in her leapt for joy every time he complimented her. She could have spent hours letting him make her entirely too uncomfortable in the train hallway, but that would mean a trip to Hogsmead rather than Hogswart. So, like it or not, she needed to move.

"I supposed we'd better actually get off the train then," she managed after a beat of observing his far too perfect face.

"I supposed we'd better," he agreed in his typical unshakably confident manner before following her lead off the engine and towards the clearing where carriages pulled by skeletal winged horses awaited.

Of course, she didn't mention the steeds to him, she'd learned better after second year. Everyone else only saw magical carriages that simply pulled themselves. Instead, she began sizing up the carriages and the crowd filing towards them, attempting to figure out which carriage would either be the least empty or full of people that wouldn't hate her too much for imposing on them. She couldn't let herself hope that he would invite her to sit with him, she'd already indulged herself more than enough. It was time to settle into being alone again. Friends were for normal people, not freaks. Anything more than friendship was just that much more out of her reach as well.

"Reg! You've brought our little mouse back to us!" A sudden shout startled her, causing her to jump and whirl around to find the source just in time for collision with an overly excited Sirius, who bound over to them like an eager dog greeting its owner.

"Your mouse?" Regulus' question held an edge she could almost mistake for jealousy if he were talking about anyone else.

"Elisa here, bolted as soon as we opened the compartment door, the poor thing must have just gotten a bit turned around in all the excitement," Sirius joked, but caught her eyes and gave her a gentle placating smile, "Thank goodness you caught her, poor Peter's quite taken with her I'm afraid."

"I am not!" an indignant Peter squeaked from a few paces away, earning a light slap from Remus, "Er, not that you're not a lovely bird and all."

"Be that as it may," Sirius barreled on, "We'll be taking her back from you now, James found a lovely carriage for us all to squish into, besides, I think I saw Avery over there looking for you."

Regulus jumped a bit at the mention of his best friend and the realization that he could be seen associating with his brother and the outcast Rosier, "Well, I guess if you've got it all figured out then. I'll see you around."

He nodded at Elisa before reluctantly taking off towards the crowd, trying not to think too hard about the fact that he was leaving her, once again, with his far too popular older brother. It was tempting to stay, or better yet to whisk her away with him, far from Sirius's charming gaze, but her knew better. This year was far too important for him, he couldn't risk it by appearing too friendly with anyone he shouldn't and she was most definitely included in that category. Instead, he schooled his features into something approximating aloofness and turned his focus to his goal. All the while, doing his best to shut out any thought of her pretty face and soft pink hair. Elisa, for her part, managed to only gaze wistfully after him for a moment before turning her icy blue eyes to Sirius in a not quite glare.

"You didn't have to scare him off like that," she admonished, "He's your brother after all, he could have ridden with us too."

She nearly missed the look of sadness that swept over his features before his smirk fell into place once more, "Silly mouse, carriages only seat four, we can't be bolstering our numbers like that."

"There are five of us!" she cried in exasperation, but found herself following swiftly as he bounded toward the end of the carriages, despite herself.

"That is why, my sassy little mouse," he turned to face her as he boarded he carriage and offered her a hand up, "You'll be sharing a seat with me."

In a swift and seemingly well practiced motion, he pulled her into the carriage and onto her lap, which would have been impressive, if she hadn't immediately fallen to the floor in a pathetical ball, her eyes dark with panic. He froze as she realized what she'd done and blanched completely white.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," his grey eyes were soft with something close to understanding as he very slowly and carefully extended a hand, "I should have known better."

She took it gratefully and glanced around quickly to find thankfully, none of the others had made it to the carriage quite yet, "What do you mean by that?"

"What did Sirius do now?" Remus interjected as he boarded the carriage, then stopped short, taking in the tense air, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" she half shouted before reeling herself in quickly, "I mean, Sirius was just suggesting I share his seat with him and I…"

She trailed off unable to find an explanation for her panic and just stared at Sirius helplessly, who in true Sirius fashion, decided to save the day, "Little mouse was just a bit shocked that we wouldn't chivalrously provide her with her own seating of course, but what can we do with so little room?"

"I could take a different carriage," Remus offered helpfully, turning to disembark from the cramped interior.

"No! Er—no, I'm fine. Sirius and I can share, don't worry," she surprised herself, shouldn't she have taken that as an excuse to leave?

Instead, she found herself gingerly settling onto Sirius's lap exactly how she'd never ever imagined she would. His warmth seeped into her back, making her entirely too conscious of every point of contact between the two of them as she already began to internally berate herself. Hadn't she just decided to resign herself to being alone again? Still, some part of her couldn't help being just a bit glad she'd stayed as Sirius's arms settled loosely around her waist. Perhaps just one carriage ride wouldn't hurt, then she could go back to her wallflower routine. She smiled softly at Remus, who settled tiredly onto the carriage bench, allowing a rather distressed Peter and put out James into the carriage as well.

"Finally, I was beginning to think we would just miss the entire feast," James exclaimed as the carriage took off at a pace that seemed at least a bit faster than normal as if attempting to catch up to the rest of the carriages.

James then immediately launched into a long and overly embellished tale about how he had been trying to figure out which carriage Lily had gotten into so he could ask what she thought of his letter. To which, Remus told James he hadn't delivered the letter, which of course descended into a ride full of teasing, bickering, and all the other boisterous activity she'd grown accustomed to on the train ride there. Of course, on the train ride there she hadn't been entirely too aware of Sirius' arms resting gently around her waist. Or the way he had to tighten them slightly every time they hit a bump or a turn to ensure she didn't spill off his lap and onto the floor again. Her mind whirred as the boys chattered, trying to dissect the look Sirius had given her when she'd been curled up on the floor. It wasn't pity, it was something far less patronizing, perhaps even understanding. The thought chilled her to the bone and made it hard to keep her breathing normal enough he wouldn't notice the change.

Just as they were rounding the last turn, his arms tightened ever so slightly more around her and he leaned close to her ear, "I'm glad I convinced you to ride with us little mouse, I think you fit in with us quite nicely."

She muffled a small squeak at the compliment and focused her entire being on keeping her hair and eyes their respective default blonde and blue.


	6. If looks could kill

"I'm sure more than a few of you have heard the whispers of dark goings on beyond these castle walls," Dumbledore continued as the warm flickering candle light of the Great Hall danced across his ancient features, "I want to assure you that this school has been and will remain a sanctuary from any such hate and violence. We will not tolerate any such darkness in these bright halls."

Elisa hoped he was right, lately, every new guest at the house had brought darker and uglier talk. There was a new Dark Lord, someone all too often likened to Grindelwald, the dark wizard who had sought to and nearly succeeded in conquering the wizarding world when her mother was young. In fact, he would have succeeded if it hadn't been for the man addressing the school now. This new Dark Lord sounded nearly as evil and driven. To make matters worse, from what she'd overheard in hushed and whispered conversations, her mother supported him as did many other family friends. She hoped the Headmaster was right about keeping Hogwarts a sanctuary, but she knew too many families with children there who seemed to herald the rise of such a wizard, eager to join his ranks and stop the reforms that had been spewing forth from the Ministry over the past decade. Sudden applause drew her from her thoughts and she looked up quickly to find the feast had begun.

The long Great Hall tables overflowed with every dish imaginable. She should be starving. She realized she hadn't eaten a decent meal since her last stint in the room, but with all the thoughts of darkness swirling and the heady activity of the train and carriage rides, she was left jittery and nauseated. She found herself only able to slowly sip a goblet of pumpkin juice while she waited for the feast to end. The table around her filled with chatter, as kindly Hufflepuffs informed their Muggle-born friends off all the goings on they'd missed in the wizarding world, friends catching up after a long summer, and of course everyone congratulating the new first years. No one talked to her. Her house was full of kind witches and wizards who would surely politely converse with her if prompted, but she'd never really belonged there. She'd been too shy and withdrawn her first year, to the point that rumors flew that she couldn't even speak. Of course, waking up screaming several times in the dorms hadn't helped her case either. The nightmares had been bad enough that first year, that she'd been relegated to sleeping the hospital wing her entire first month of school. By the time she was well enough to return to the dormitory, her status as an outcast had already been firmly cemented. It was for the best she supposed, getting close to people never turned out well for them.

She sighed into her goblet and began absently scanning the Great Hall, at the Slytherin table she quickly spotted her younger sisters silky platinum hair. She was surrounded by friends and happily chatting away, while leaning ever so slightly into Daniel Fawley, of "we're going to be late to Diagon Alley" fame. Farther up the length of the table, she spotted her brother's honey blonde hair as he talked animatedly with a group a Slytherin boys, which just happened to include a certain Black brother. Just as she realized she was staring, he glanced up, and she met those now familiar grey eyes once again. Regulus smirked at her then nudged her brother, who looked up. It was the first time she'd seen Evan's face in weeks and she nearly yelped in surprise. His left eye was complete swollen shut and a pale scar stood out on his cheek. Whatever had been occupying her brother's time was hardly gentle. He waved sheepishly before returning his attention to the crowd of boys around him. What in Merlin's beard was going on?

"So, how's my favorite little mouse?" she jumped and turned to find Sirius pulling himself up from under the table to sit on the bench next to her, "I have to say, Hufflepuff does always seem to have the best spread at these things. Must be something to do with living so close to the kitchens."

"You can't be here," she hissed and swatted the pasty he'd grabbed out of his hand, "This isn't your table."

"Love, I promise no one will notice. Besides, even if they did, who could resist this charming face?" he smiled roguishly at her and grabbed two more pasties.

She watched in astonishment as he piled a plate with more than one person could possibly eat, before she finally found her voice again, "Seriously Sirius, why are you here?"

"Oh! That's a clever one," he giggled, "Seriously Sirius, at your service."

There was something off about him, something far different from the playful Sirius she had begrudging rode to the castle with. Then she caught a whiff of cinnamon and something else on his breath. Her eyes went wide as she placed it, fire whiskey.

She was going to kill him, "Are you drunk? At the feast?"

"Just a bit tipsy, love," he admitted and scooted ever so slightly closer to her, "Had to get my confidence up somehow, seeing as my little mouse loves to take cuts at my ego."

There was more than just playfulness in his slightly glazed eyes and she was suspicious it wasn't just from the alcohol. Something about the way he was regarding her more carefully before, almost as if he knew something about her she didn't. There was also something there that she recognized instantly. He was running. She shook her head agitatedly, the great Sirius Black running? She must just be projecting.

"I am not your little mouse and you are being ridiculous," she put more space between them and set her goblet down heavily.

"You're not eating, it's a feast," he remarked, undeterred and set his far too full plate in front of her, "We can't have that."

Her stomach growled at the sight of all the food in front of her, but she forced herself to push it away, "I'm serious, you can't be here, especially not drunk like this."

"No, love, I'm Sirius," he clarified, giggled at his own joke, then stopped to stare her deeply in the eyes, "Your eyes are going all crimson-y. Does that mean you're a Gryffindor at heart?"

She felt like crying in frustration, as she rubbed her eyes silently begging for them to return to blue, "I'm giving you to the count of three before I call a prefect over."

"That won't be necessary," Remus' disappointed voice came from above and he latched onto the back of Sirius' robed, tugging him off the bench, "Sorry you had to see this."

She nodded in acceptance of Remus' apology, "It's fine, just make sure he's alright yeah?"

Remus sighed heavily and nodded, his sharp gold eyes betraying not disappointment, but sympathy. Somehow, she knew it extended to her as well. She shivered unhappily, the pale bookish boy was far too observant, who knows what conclusions he'd drawn. Her façade of normalcy seemed to have failed around him too often already. She half expected him to say something else, but instead, he just dragged his squirming friend away with only a final apology tossed over his shoulder, while Sirius rambled on about mice.

She had never been so glad to make it back to her dorm room. Most years she was excited about the sanctuary away from her mother, but she'd never been quite so exhausted by just a train and carriage ride. Finally alone, she found her trunk at the foot of the bed in the farthest corner of the room, an arrangement that suited her just fine and had her mentally thanking the house elves. The four-poster bed was made of familiar dark mahogany and hung with heavy yellow curtains for privacy. After changing quickly out of her school robes and into pajamas, she sank into the yellow and black striped cotton sheets gratefully. She was finally back at Hogwarts, far far away from the Lady of the House. With a well-practiced flick of her wand, she swept the curtains closed and sent a small light shooting to the top of the covered bed. Most fifth years didn't still use night lights, but then again most fifth years hadn't spent time locked in the room without any light for days on end. Her dorm mates had learned long ago the small light was worth the tradeoff of sleep uninterrupted by her screams when she woke up in the dark. Still, she did her best to be unobtrusive. After checking that it had settled itself to be as invisible as possible to the rest of the room, she settled into a fitful sleep, finally home.


	7. A nose is a nose

**Sorry, posted this earlier then changed my mind and did a few edits, but here it is**

The early morning was uneventful, or at least uneventful beyond the usual. She woke up with a start, her eyes flying open and a scream just caught in her throat. But the room was bright with morning sun, which helped to quell the panic. Thank Merlin she was back at Hogwarts, where the panic subsided in the morning instead of growing until her chest exploded. She locked her eyes on her bright little nightlight high above her, observing how it fit just so between the folds of the heavy yellow curtains. If she focused hard enough on the light and counted her breaths, the panic would be manageable in five minutes. The night's terrors hung heavy on her chest as she focused on this thought and continued to count until it didn't hurt to breathe. They were just nightmares here, nothing tangible and nothing to actually be afraid of. She got out of bed, slipping out between the heavy curtains with only the barest rustle. No one else was awake, which really wasn't surprizing seeing as it was only 6 am. She preferred her mornings solitary anyway. Keeping as quiet as she could, as quiet as a mouse really, she slipped into a steaming shower. It was hot, nearly scalding. The drastic change in temperature helped keep her mind off the dark. After a nearly 30-minute shower, she stepped out all pink and steaming clean. She could almost believe she'd washed the horrors off with just a scrub as she wrapped herself in a fluffy yellow and black towel. She padded over to the mirror, wiped away the thick fog that had built up, and observed her face. It was only some mornings she could bear to scrutinize herself like this, but it was always important. There weren't too many other ways to monitor her eyes and hair color. After observing her crystal clear blue eyes and pin straight pale blonde hair a thought came unbidden to her head.

Remus had said something about a metamorphagus who was able to change into the likeness of other people. Could she do that? Maybe she could just try a little bit. She focused on her nose, it was small and straight and unremarkable. It was her mother's nose, but what if it wasn't? She thought of her brother's nose. It was bigger, with a small hump near the bridge and just slightly crooked from a Quidditch accident his third year. Picturing it as hard as she could, she stared at her own nose, trying to feel the same feeling changing her hair gave her. Nothing happened. She wrinkled her nose unhappily and a smattering of freckles appeared across her nose and cheeks. That was new. She leaned in close and contemplated trying to make them disappear, but changed her mind. She looked less her mother now, that was hardly a tragedy. After slipping into her school robes she scurried down to get breakfast and her new schedule, feeling somehow lighter.

Of course, the lighter mood couldn't last, she sighed heavily while contemplating her time table. Double potions with Gryffindor. Somehow those four simple words managed to strike fear in Elisa's heart. Well, anyone in their right mind would have at least a little fear of double potions, as it meant an hour and a half of stirring bubbling cauldrons in the dungeons. Of course, that wasn't really the part that scared her, it was the fact that the one class where partners were assigned just happened to be with Sirius Black. Never mind, that the odds of him being her partner were around 1 in 20, that was still more than enough to be anxious about. Which might explain why she hadn't been able to stop staring at her schedule since receiving it at the breakfast table in the Great Hall that morning.

Once again, faced with the astonishing spread the house elves had whipped up, Elisa found herself nursing a pumpkin juice as her stomach did nervous somersaults. If she'd thought anyone was watching she probably would have gone through the effort of dishing up some eggs to chase around her plate absently or some toast at the very least. However, after first year she had carefully cultivated the talent of being completely unremarkable to her fellow students. Her status as an outcast meant there was rarely ever anyone around to rile up any emotions and cause any color changes. She definitely preferred only having to keep the blue at bay, rather than the whole riot of colors that being around too many people seemed to unleash. Besides her color changing hair, there wasn't much else to draw attention to her, so as long as she kept quiet she could fly entirely under the radar. All this was to say, no one noticed whether she had food on her plate or not at any given meal. Not that it was all that important whether she did or not, or that she made such a huge habit of skipping meals. Still, it was nice not to be pestered when her stomach was already playing jump rope with her intestines. Of course, thinking that thought was as good as jinxing herself.

"They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she looked up quickly to find James standing above her, one hand awkwardly ruffling his masses of dark curls.

"I had too much at the feast last night," she lied as he took a seat next to her on the bench, "Do any of you have any regard for house conventions?"

James laughed her off as he piled a plate high, "How else I am supposed to find you?"

"We have potions together today," she handed over her time table without thinking and immediately regretted it. Wasn't she supposed to be finding a way to distance herself from these oddly confident boys, not encouraging them?

He scrutinized the parchment unhappily, "Double potions on our first day? Merlin, who did we piss off?"

"Look was there something you wanted or have you all just taken it upon yourselves to interrupt all my meals?" she snatched the parchment back and trying desperately not to let her irritation show in her eyes.

"Look, sorry about Sirius last night," his hand was back to ruffling his unruly hair, "And thanks, for not telling any else you know. He's a good guy at heart and I know he means well."

Her mind went blank. James Potter was apologizing to her on behalf of Sirius Black. Had the entire world gone mad? She stared at the abashed boy for probably too long before realizing he wouldn't leave until she'd at least replied.

"It's fine, just maybe reel it in a little? Isn't being drunk at the feast a little much even for you guys?" she didn't care, she wasn't trying to get more involved with this confusing crowd that wouldn't leave her be, but she couldn't help but worry over the look she'd seen in Sirius' eyes.

James sighed heavily, "Summers are always rough for him, and he was just letting off a little steam. I doubt it'll happen again."

There was something so sad and un-James like about him. She and the rest of the school knew him to be loud and confident to a fault. In every class, she'd ever had with Gryffindor, he'd been sent from the room at least once. Yet here he was, seriously trying to explain Sirius. Merlin, she needed to reign in the unintentional Sirius puns. She turned her attention back to the manner at hand, sad James and drunk Sirius. Things weren't a clear cut as they had seemed before she'd been swept up by all of them.

"It's fine James, everything is fine," she took a hasty sip from her goblet and softened her tone, "Really, I don't mind. We're good, you can go back to your friends and everything again."

"Now what fun would that be?" James laughed and waved at someone behind her.

She turned to find Sirius, Remus, and Peter all headed her way, "This isn't even your house table."

Her complaint fell on deaf ears as the other three settled in, surrounding her with boisterous chatter once more. She sipped her pumpkin juice and failed to suppress a small smile. They were growing on her, she had to admit that. She'd go back to being alone after breakfast. A cursory glance at the Slytherin table assured her that Dahlia wasn't lurking around just yet. With the Lady of the House was miles and miles away, she didn't have too much else to worry about. She could afford just one meal with something close to friends. For his part, Sirius did a fantastic job of pretending the last night had never happened. He was full of laughter and teasing remarks and didn't give her a single strange look. She could almost forget she was a freak for the time being.


End file.
